One Border Patrol agent was killed and another seriously injured in a shooting early Tuesday near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to authorities.

Three agents were on foot at about 1:30 a.m. about 7 miles east of Bisbee responding to a ground sensor that had triggered, said Carol Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Capas said the agents reported over the radio that they had come under fire as they were following a trail into the area. Earlier reports from authorities stated erroneously that they were on horseback.

When deputies arrived, one of the agents had died and another suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries, she said.

No suspects were in custody, and Capas she could provide any details on the shooters including how many there were, or what they were doing in the area.

The injured agent sustained non-life-threatening wounds and was flown to a hospital, according to Crystal Amarillas, a spokeswoman for the Tucson Sector Border Patrol.

George McCubbin, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a work union representing border agents called the National Border Patrol Council, said the injured agent had undergone surgery at the University of Arizona Medical Center and is doing well.

Border patrol has not identified the agents involved.

The shooting is being investigated by the FBI and the Cochise County Sheriff's Office. The deceased agent left behind a wife and two children, he said.

U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who represents the eighth district, released a statement saying "This morning I spoke to Border Patrol leaders for the Tucson Sector to offer my condolences to the men and women of the Border Patrol. My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and colleagues of the agent who today made the ultimate sacrifice for his country."

"This is a powerful reminder that our borders are far from secure and that every day the courageous men and women of the Border Patrol put their lives on the line while protecting the citizens of Arizona and the United States," the statement said. "We need to redouble our efforts to secure the border and ensure the safety of Border Patrol agents."

Beth Kempshall, state director of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a counter-narcotics entity, said the shootout occurred in "a traditional smuggling corridor for the Sinaloa Cartel."

Marc Denney, a Cochise County Sheriff's commander over the Border Alliance Group Task Force, said the shooting occurred in a known smuggling area. "Basically ambushed," he added. "It's rough terrain. Rocky and very hilly. A lot of low-lying brush."

Denney said law enforcement were swarming the area this morning, looking for suspects. "There's hope that we'll be able to track them," he said. "But there is enough of a gap that they may have had time to go south" across border into Mexico.

All three agents were assigned to the Brian Terry Station, Amarillas said. The station is located in Naco and was named in September in honor of a slain border patrol agent.

Terry, 40, was the last U.S. Border Patrol Agent killed on duty. He was shot in a shootout in December 2010 about 13 miles north of the border at Nogales.

Two guns found at the scene were bought by a member of a ring that was being monitored in the government's gun-smuggling investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that has led Congress' investigation of Fast and Furious, said the shooting is "a tragic reminder of the dangers the brave men and women who guard our borders face every day... Authorities must investigate the full circumstances of this shooting. I urge everyone to think of the families of these agents and avoid drawing conclusions before relevant facts are known."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the agents' families at this difficult time," said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.. "Violence along Arizona's border cannot be tolerated by the federal government any longer. The federal government must commit the necessary resources to secure the border, because that's simply not happening right now."

Time to look the other way, just don't shoot the dealers as they cross because they work for the CIA.

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

Because republicans care about illegal immigration.....in election years, anyway.

This isn't about partisan politics, not even entirely about illegal immigration. Our border is overrun with armed drug runners from ultra violent cartels. They aren't looking to stay here, only go back and forth hauling drugs in one direction and cash in the other.

Today there is a newly widowed wife and two children whose daddy will never be coming home again because our borders aren't secure.

Our nation as a whole, regardless of party affiliation, has to care enough about that to fix it.

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson

This entire situation is circular and both sides have a stake to maintaining the status quo.

__________________
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father ... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

"If the people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." - Thomas Jefferson